The invention relates to a holding device for mounting on an implement carrier such as a fork lift truck, hoisting crane, tractor or the like in order to move, hold or lift an object.
The object of the invention is to provide a device which can be used in connection with moving or holding an object, where only one of the object's surfaces is accessible as a gripping/lifting surface.
Such a device will be particularly useful where several objects are stacked on top of one another in such a fashion that it is difficult or even impossible to obtain a conventional, encircling grip of the individual object, since only one of the object's surfaces is accessible as a possible gripping surface.
The device according to the invention will therefore be suitable for a range of applications, but will be particularly relevant in connection with moving discarded white goods. In the course of time the demand has increased for recycling or special treatment of white goods such as refrigerators and cookers, resulting in an accumulation of white goods at the dealers' receiving stations. The white goods are often tightly stacked on top of one another in great quantities. For refuse disposal companies that have to collect the white goods and depend on fast removal of the discarded white goods, it is a major challenge to have the tightly-stacked white goods transferred to the lorry in a fast and efficient manner. Standard implement carriers such as fork lift trucks are not suited to this purpose, since there is often little or no room for the truck's gripping parts due to the tight stacking.
Thus there is a great need to provide a device which is designed so as to permit the transfer of the object even though only one of the object's surfaces/sides is accessible as a gripping surface. When the device has to be employed in connection with moving an item of white goods, for example, one of the sides or the top surface of the item viewed in relation to the individual item's position in the stack may be relevant gripping surfaces for the device.
Such an invention is provided by the device as it is set out in the independent patent claim. Further embodiments of the invention are set out in the following dependent patent claims.